Content – there’s just no shortage of it thanks to the Internet. When I was a boy (and I’m not even so old) when a person wanted to know an obscure fact, a trek to the local library would have been the solution. Despite helpful librarians and indexed reference books, many books had to be paged through to find the right information. The ability of the Internet to place information at the fingertips of users changed all this. But it wasn’t the Internet alone. It was still dependent upon the ability to successfully find the information in question, relatively quickly and easily. Gone are the days when a person was prepared to wait for Mrs Woogle the librarian to dig deep in her vast personal memory bank of knowledge and cataloguing system. Now the answers have to show on the first page of Google and within the first 10 results shown.

Thanks to Google and their ever changing algorithms, the results based on user input key phrases are very accurate. The results shown in any search, Google or otherwise, are based on tags, meta data and actual content. Not so long ago searching for video content was based solely on tags and description. The actual content could not be read. With the advancement of technology and in the same way that relevant written content is indexed in the search engines of today, all video content will soon be searchable. This means that video publishers will soon be creating video content in the same way that webmasters create search engine optimized web sites.

Based on this principal of creation, the online video’s search engine visibility would be determined. Moving away from regular content search engines such as Google and Yahoo, video content will be searched on using video aggregation sites. These sites which, by the way, are shooting up in abundance, will control the future of online video content. In the late 90’s there was Ask, Info Seek, Excite and many other search engines that battled to provide users with the online information they were looking for. We all know the outcome. In 2008, Google is clearly the winner in the search engine wars and has become the one stop shop for the immediate delivery of online information.

Think of a universal remote control that can deliver all of the video content on the Internet from one location. At the press of a button a display of the best user generated content can be viewed and chosen. The press of another button determines country of origin and language, therefore filtering anything that would not necessarily fit into a person’s cultural tastes. The press of another button would show large established networks. Another button, independently produced programs and films. Another button brings listings by topic. Commercial breaks would become a thing of the past. After all when you’re watching video on demand, there would be no need to view any additional, unwanted content. The content itself would be optimized to be picked up by the aggregator’s algorithm. Publishers and producers of video content who successfully master this will be the people negotiating the large advertising deals.

Content will be cleverly devised to account for these elements:

• The Viewer
• The Aggregator’s Algorithm
• Potential Brand Sponsorship
• Interaction and Engagement

Product placement will move from passive to active and have relevance to the very core of the video content. User engagement will increase and even allow viewers to make direct purchases based on the interaction with online video data.

Next time you’re watching your favorite movie take a look at the jewelry worn by the actors, or a car driven across the screen, or traveling on an airplane. How many times have you wanted to act immediately and know the make and price of the jewelry, the cost of the car or vacation information to the destination of the plane? Very soon all of these things will be possible and all at the touch of a button from the comfort of your own environment.